"Use of the newly developed diluent will improve the reproductive efficiency of males and reduce the cost of poultry production," an official said, referring to a study of CARI, which is located at Izatnagar in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh.

It is expected that the diluent will also help the government achieve its goal of doubling farmers' incomes by 2022. Many farmers depend on poultry production to supplement their income in states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.

According to the study, if a broiler is donating nearly 0.5ml semen (sperm concentrate 5.34 billion/ml), it can be inseminated into 110 hens after dilution with the CARI diluent having 24 million sperm/dose of artificial insemination (0.05ml diluted semen).

It is expected that the new diluent will soon replace the commonly available chicken semen extenders (dilutor) which are complex in composition. "It needs adjustment of pH and osmotic pressure, thereby taking more time in preparation, and is expensive.

He said, "A new diluent was developed, keeping in view these problems. It can successfully preserve chicken semen at low temperature for 24 hours and does not require the adjustment of pH and osmotic pressure".

The newly developed diluent can be used for many poultry species like layer, broiler, 'desi' chicken, turkey, duck and guinea fowl.

The CARI poultry semen diluent was tested in more than 2000 birds in the institute. The studies indicated that this diluent even works well up to 48 hours. The studies found that its fertilising ability is comparable to the freshly ejaculated semen of chicken and nearly 90 % fertility can be achieved using freshly diluted semen.

Large scale studies on this aspect are in progress. It will soon be widely available for users across the country, making poultry production highly economical in India